A practical method for improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nuclear Science

Jim Olson; Emily Liu; Malcolm Kenneth Porterfield

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Conference: ASEE-NE 2022
Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts
Publication Date: April 22, 2022
Start Date: April 22, 2022
End Date: April 23, 2022
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42151
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42151
Download Count: 464

Paper Authors

biography

Jim Olson Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute orcid.org/0000-0001-9109-3684

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After a twenty year Engineering career inventing and operating advanced technology in various private sector and military environments, Jim Olson returned to Academia to formalize and publish the methods and best practices he developed while mentoring and training Early Career individuals in the practical application of STEM concepts. Jim's research if Engineering Education centric and he is currently pursing a Doctorate of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY

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Emily Liu Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-067X

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Dr. Liu is a Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Dr. Liu earned PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005). Liu received 2018-2019 ELATE at Drexel Fellowship. He was the recipient of a Faculty Development Grant from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and numerous teaching and research awards from School of Engineering at Rensselaer, as well as the Cozzarelli Prize in Engineering and Applied Sciences from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As a Physicist and Engineer by training, Liu’s technical research is focused on solving high impact problems associated with energy and the environment through fundamental investigations into the structure-function relationships of materials. For this purpose she is developing fundamental bridges between scattering (neutron, X-ray, and light) spectroscopy and simulations (molecular dynamics and phase field) to investigate materials’ response. Moreover, Liu’s science based communication/societal research extends into many areas. She works on the emergency management and decision technologies to support preparedness, response, and recovery. Collaborating with financial engineers, she builds economic analysis to measure sustainability of advanced hybrid energy systems and develops new optimization economic/technical model for nuclear fuel cycle. Collaborating with course developers, she discovers innovations for engineering education.

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Malcolm Kenneth Porterfield Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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Malcolm Porterfield is a Ph. D. candidate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, and a GEM Fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. His current research focus is Molecular Dynamics with the long-term goal of unlocking a major breakthrough in Energy Sustainability. More specifically, he is exploring the possibility of thermal-to-electrostatic energy conversion to harvest waste heat.

Raised in Albany, New York, Malcolm graduated from Albany High School before attending Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) where he earned an Associate of Science Degree in Engineering Science in 2015. While at Hudson Valley, he was on the President's List twice, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and was on the HVCC Baseball Team.

Malcolm transferred to RPI after completing his degree at HVCC. At RPI, Malcolm earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 2017 in Mechanical Engineering before beginning his graduate studies during which he earned a Master of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2019. Throughout his time at RPI, Malcolm has been involved with the Track & Field program, first as a student athlete and later as an assistant coach. He was a champion of the hammer throw at the 2018 Liberty League Outdoor Championship. In addition to his academic and athletic endeavors, Malcolm was the treasurer of the Black Graduate Students Association of RPI where he planned and executed team events and managed the finances of the group.

Prior to accepting a position as a GEM Fellow, Malcolm completed four Graduate Assistant Research Assistant internships at Los Alamos. In addition to his Ph. D. studies, Malcolm continues to pursue available opportunities in learning by auditing courses such as Fusion Energy at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and earning certification in courses such as, Neutron Scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Lean / Six Sigma at RPI.

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Abstract

Since the early 1990's, the ability of public education systems to produce scientists, engineers, and technologists has become a central focus. Leaders around the globe in all areas of national importance have emphasized a growing need to produce a workforce that is fluent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Countless resources have been dedicated to improving STEM outcomes in various ways including modernizing regulated curricula environments, including compulsory education. United States (US) compulsory education has a long history of successfully producing technologists, albeit inconsistently across represented demographics. US higher education has a long history of successfully producing scientists, engineers, and advanced technologists, albeit inconsistently across represented demographics. In addition to modernizing standardized curricula to produce scientists, engineers, and technologists more effectively, the elimination of inconsistent outcomes among various demographics in STEM education and careers is of primary interest. In order for society to continue advancing by continually producing increasingly advanced technology, an education methodology that can produce desired STEM education and career outcomes for all individuals is desired. Starting in 1994, a small group of Engineering Education Researchers began developing a novel methodology to improve STEM learning outcomes for underrepresented demographics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. More than twenty-five years of trial and error in various practical learning environments, including military, private sector engineering, public elementary and high schools, and academia, resulted in a two-part STEM Learning Model (SLM). One part of the SLM is an empirical cognitive model, the Human Learning Model (HLM), that is used as a guide for curricula developers to customize lesson plans for a target audience. The other part of the SLM is a reduced set of scientific theories, referred to as Small-To-Big Physics (S2BP), that has been demonstrated to enable mastery of certain STEM fundamentals, without the need for math proficiency, that serve as prerequisites to formal STEM learning. The SLM has produced successful STEM learning outcomes in student learners as early as 4th grade and through early career Engineers and Ph. D. candidates. The current best practice is for Engineering Education Researchers to partner with volunteers and organizations that have existing programs dedicated to broadening participation of associated demographics in STEM Education and careers. Engineering Education Researchers collaborate with these organizations to develop customized STEM learning modules consistent with the needs and objectives of the target demographic. These modules include moderator training and lesson plan guides that enable members of these organizations to produce desired outcomes in STEM learning without the aid or input or presence of the Engineering Education Researchers. This paper documents the preparation process, execution, and outcome of a STEM event titled "Demystifying Nuclear Science and Engineering". The long-term objective of this STEM event is to broaden the participation of Black / African Americans in Nuclear Science and Engineering careers by teaching nuclear science fundamentals to 10th-12th grade Black / African American students.

Citation
Format

Olson, J., & Liu, E., & Porterfield, M. K. (2022, April), A practical method for improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nuclear Science Paper presented at ASEE-NE 2022, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts. 10.18260/1-2--42151

TY - CPAPER
AB - Since the early 1990&#39;s, the ability of public education systems to produce scientists, engineers, and technologists has become a central focus. Leaders around the globe in all areas of national importance have emphasized a growing need to produce a workforce that is fluent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Countless resources have been dedicated to improving STEM outcomes in various ways including modernizing regulated curricula environments, including compulsory education. United States (US) compulsory education has a long history of successfully producing technologists, albeit inconsistently across represented demographics. US higher education has a long history of successfully producing scientists, engineers, and advanced technologists, albeit inconsistently across represented demographics. In addition to modernizing standardized curricula to produce scientists, engineers, and technologists more effectively, the elimination of inconsistent outcomes among various demographics in STEM education and careers is of primary interest. In order for society to continue advancing by continually producing increasingly advanced technology, an education methodology that can produce desired STEM education and career outcomes for all individuals is desired.
Starting in 1994, a small group of Engineering Education Researchers began developing a novel methodology to improve STEM learning outcomes for underrepresented demographics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. More than twenty-five years of trial and error in various practical learning environments, including military, private sector engineering, public elementary and high schools, and academia, resulted in a two-part STEM Learning Model (SLM). One part of the SLM is an empirical cognitive model, the Human Learning Model (HLM), that is used as a guide for curricula developers to customize lesson plans for a target audience. The other part of the SLM is a reduced set of scientific theories, referred to as Small-To-Big Physics (S2BP), that has been demonstrated to enable mastery of certain STEM fundamentals, without the need for math proficiency, that serve as prerequisites to formal STEM learning. The SLM has produced successful STEM learning outcomes in student learners as early as 4th grade and through early career Engineers and Ph. D. candidates.
The current best practice is for Engineering Education Researchers to partner with volunteers and organizations that have existing programs dedicated to broadening participation of associated demographics in STEM Education and careers. Engineering Education Researchers collaborate with these organizations to develop customized STEM learning modules consistent with the needs and objectives of the target demographic. These modules include moderator training and lesson plan guides that enable members of these organizations to produce desired outcomes in STEM learning without the aid or input or presence of the Engineering Education Researchers.
This paper documents the preparation process, execution, and outcome of a STEM event titled &quot;Demystifying Nuclear Science and Engineering&quot;. The long-term objective of this STEM event is to broaden the participation of Black / African Americans in Nuclear Science and Engineering careers by teaching nuclear science fundamentals to 10th-12th grade Black / African American students.

AU - Jim Olson
AU - Emily Liu
AU - Malcolm Kenneth Porterfield
CY - Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts
DA - 2022/04/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - A practical method for improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nuclear Science
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42151
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42151
ER -